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The Academy at St James

Our Curriculum

“Our job is to make learning irresistible, our job is to transport our children to places that they have no experience of and provide them with real experiences.  By doing this we help them remember, retain and question – this can only create citizens of the future who are thoughtful, kind and creative” - Unknown

Equal opportunities are provided for all our children regardless of gender, race, disability or SEND need; this is in line with the Equalities Act 2010 and SEN and Disability Regulations 2014.

Every child has the chance to take part in the whole school curriculum. Our aim is to develop the whole child and our provision supports pupils’ social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.

Children in the Foundation Stage (i.e. those in Reception classes) follow a curriculum based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

Children in Year 1 to Year 6 follow the National Curriculum 2014. This includes the core subjects of English, mathematics, science and computing and the foundation subjects of History, Geography, Design Technology, Art, Physical Education, Music, Languages and Religious Education. The long term plan ensures that all the curriculum areas are covered during the year. Activities are matched to pupils’ abilities. We provide rich and varied contexts for pupils to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills

We encourage children to develop independence, teamwork and collaboration in their work. We teach them to look after resources and to use materials correctly.

At The Academy at St. James we believe in nurturing the potential in everyone. We are committed to providing a challenging curriculum for all of our pupils. In addition to high quality, differentiated teaching we provide opportunities to identify and nurture the talents and skills of our children.  Children are given the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities.

Our Vision

asj vision.pdf

 Curriculum Progression Overview

 

Supporting our Curriculum

Regular parent workshops and coffee mornings allow teachers and families to work together in supporting the children’s learning and linking to our key values of community, peace, respect, forgiveness, trust and courage. To ensure our parents know about our curriculum we;

  • Hold parents evening twice a year
  • Hold grand finales for parents to view children's work
  • Run maths and phonics workshops
  • Newsletters
  • Communication through social media
  • Invite parents into school for events

Planning our Curriculum

At The Academy at St James, we aim to provide ALL our children with an engaging, purposeful curriculum that inspires, motivates, challenges and excites our pupils. We believe that providing our pupils with key experiences will enhance their learning and personal development to help them become successful, confident learners.  Our topics are planned using the following ideas:

  1. All topics will start with a hook and a way to engage the pupils.
  2. Topics will be split into 3 learning chapters and children will be producing work to support this.
  3. Each year group has a progression in skills document which they use for there year group.
  4. All topics will also have a visit or visitor of some kind to give children real life experiences.
  5. All topics will have a grand finale which will showcase all their work and be linked to real life skills and an audience.

All the staff will plan a carefully structured approach to the teaching of the curriculum and work will be differentiated to support pupils needs. It is vital that we make our curriculum as relevant, exciting and engaging as possible and teach them the key skills which will support them in later life.

 

 

Curriculum Implementation

Children ‘learn to read’ and then ‘read to learn’; this equips children with the skills required to seek and retain knowledge.

By consistently using the teaching strategy of ‘I do, we do, you do’, children are well rehearsed in practising newly acquired skills, which in turn enables them to become confident leaners. In ensuring teaching is modelled and delivered in this way, we believe this demonstrates our high expectations of all learners.

Feedback is purposeful, timely, ongoing and instructional and gives specific instruction of what children need to do next. 

The School Library

Our library holds a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts. We encourage children to see reading as a great source of pleasure and relaxation.  Children and families are encouraged to look after the books which they borrow and read.

Assessment, Recording and Reporting

We continually assess our pupils.  Parents are informed of their child’s progress and may have access to the records held. Parents will receive a written report on their child's progress at the end of each school year.

  • Consultation evenings are held for parents throughout the school year to discuss your child’s attainment with the class teacher. 
  • At the end of Year 2 and 6, teacher assessments and Standard Assessment Tests (SATS) are reported to parents. 
  • At the end of the Year 1 parents are informed of their child’s phonic screening score.

Faith Integration

The Academy at St. James is affiliated to St. James’ Church which is represented on the Governing Body. We aim to give a knowledge of the Christian Faith which is appropriate to the children’s age and level of understanding. A Christian outlook is integrated into our school life and cannot be parted.

We are strive to develop openness and mutual respect in all areas of human activity. A base for spiritual development is self understanding, the ability to express deep experiences and ideas, the awareness of other people and their feelings and an appreciation of the world around them.

We assemble together to share in the act of worship everyday, sharing experiences and matters of common interest. Parents are invited to attend some events conducted by the children. There will be occasions when the whole school will visit Church to celebrate and worship together.

The school strives to ensure celebrations such as The Nativity play and Christmas events are open to all.  The Academy at St. James ensures that important events of all faith calendars are essential parts of school life.

All parents have the right to withdraw their child from any act of worship or Religious Education lesson. A letter should be sent to the Head of School requesting withdrawal.

Being Active

At The Academy at St James we are incredibly proud of our commitment to the physical, and emotional health of our pupils. We are wholeheartedly dedicated to providing an inclusive and exciting curriculum that places high quality Physical Education, school sport, physical activity, outdoor activity and wellbeing right at the heart of school life.

Our offer is designed to work towards significantly contributing to the Chief Medical Officers (CMO) guidelines of providing children with 60 minutes of Moderate to vigorous physical activity daily (MVPA).

Educational Visits

During the academic year visits are made as part of the children’s education and occasionally invite theatre groups and other interesting people into school to educate and inspire. In these cases families may be asked to contribution towards the cost.

Our aim is to minimalise costs in the hope that parents will make the contributions necessary, enabling the event to take place. No pupil will be treated differently according to whether or not a contribution has been made. If insufficient contributions are received the events may have to be cancelled.

Parent Consultation

Parents are encouraged to view their children’s work regularly. Times will be arranged during the year when you can come into school and discuss your child’s progress. We hope that you will take this opportunity to meet your child’s teacher. Should parents wish to discuss their child at any other time they are welcome to make an appointment with the class teacher.

Sex and Relationships Education

Throughout the curriculum we promote healthy relationships between friends and family. We regularly discuss what makes a good friend and how to resolve arguments and difficult relationships. We formally teach the children about the development of human bodies and human and animal reproduction as part of the science national curriculum. Staff will answer children’s questions as truthfully as possible.

Year 6 pupils undertake an informal program of sex and relationships education led by our school nurse. Families are provided with information about this program and can view any of the resources used. A copy of the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Policy is available from the school office.

Role of our families

Parents are expected to support and encourage their child by giving time and providing a home environment in which homework can be achieved.  Children benefit enormously from being able to discuss what they have learnt with their parents.  This is not to suggest that a parent should spend time altering or correcting the child’s work but rather discuss it and encourage your child to produce work that reflects their best effort.  Constructive comments enable the child to develop a better understanding of the work and reinforce what is taught in school.

Above all other subjects, reading is a crucial aspect of schoolwork and needs to be encouraged at all times.  A child’s written skills often reflect the attitude to reading; a child who reads widely and with enthusiasm is usually able to translate this into written work.  It is, therefore, very important for an adult to read to their child and/or to try and hear their child read every day.

We value the partnership we have with our families and strive to work together providing the best education we can for your children.  However, as we have outlined in the Parent Code of Conduct, we do not accept aggressive or abusive behaviour. If any member of staff witnesses abusive or aggressive behaviour you will be asked to leave the premises and further action may be taken.

Extra-Curricular Activities

There are ample opportunities for pupils to participate in a wide range of extra curricular activities.

These may include;

  • Multisports
  • Football
  • Craft
  • Digital leading
  • Needlework
  • Dance and performing arts
  • Gymnastics
  • Learning a musical instrument.

 Further information

If you require further information about the curriculum, please contact our Head of School via the school office.

Curriculum-Gallery (ID 1068)